Red Rock Canyon 3/1/23
I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? Psalm 121
Hi Men:
Psalm 121 is such a familiar verse, but do we rest on the Christ that resides “in” us for all our help throughout the day? Or are we still relying on our own limited strength?
On Wednesday morning, as my wife was heading to her woman’s Bible study, she called and said I need to get in my car and check out the snow at Red Rock Canyon. So I grabbed our dog, headed due west of Las Vegas and 25 minutes later I was taking in this breathtaking panorama. I climbed through some barbed wire (keeps the wild burros off the highway) and hiked far enough so it was perfectly quiet. What a blessing to take five and reflect on the majesty of God and acknowledge a verse like this:
“Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth; Yours is the dominion, Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.” (1 Chronicles 29:11)
When possible, I think we need to capture moments like this and lift our eyes upon our glorious Lord. I have attached the color photo if you wish to see it (I was trying to be the poor man’s Ansel Adams 😊). If interested, a couple years ago I took another photo of Red Rock Canyon: E²Vegas.org/Friday-Mens-Group-4-2-21 Hasn’t this been another week of God releasing a massive amount of snow from His storehouses? (Job 38:22). My son informed me that Mammoth Mountain is the only ski resort on earth in the 600 Club – Over 600 inches of snow (actually 646” which is 54 feet)….. whoa! ….. and more coming this Saturday/Sunday.
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BREAKFAST AT THE WYNN & THE GAY PARKING VALET
One more story…….. My dear friend, Eric Williams from Birmingham, AL was in town for a convention. On short notice, he asked if I wanted to join him and others for breakfast at the Wynn Resort on Sunday morning. It was an international morning, because Eric’s friend is from Guadalajara and the men across from us were originally from Romania and Ukraine. Eric met one of them at the Orlando airport several weeks back and gave him the Blue Book (Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man) and he and his brother and brother-in-law were going to be in Las Vegas at the same time. Our 3+ hour breakfast was amazing because I would say 80-90% was discussing the truth of the scriptures and the sovereignty of God. We all hope to stay in touch.
When I arrived at the Wynn, the parking valet, who was obviously gay, gave me my ticket and we had a short but friendly conversation. After breakfast, when I departed and was waiting for my car with a generous tip inserted in a Steps To Peace With God tract, I thought to myself, I sure hope it’s not the same gal because she might be hostile to the Gospel. I instantly got convicted and was silently repenting as ….. you guessed it ….. the same gal was delivering my car. I walked up and said, I have something to give with you. I explained this small tract was the Gospel and what’s in it literally changed my life. She didn’t seem rushed or agitated, so I briefly shared my testimony. She received it so well and after a bit more conversation, she told me both her parents are currently in the hospital. I asked their names (Alan & Mary) and said I would be praying for her and her parents. It was a very touching and tender exchange. I drove off with tears in my eyes. Please pray for Alan, Mary and Shannon.
I thought, if I had been born that gal, would I want someone to share the Good News of Jesus with me. On an eternal plane….. no question: Heaven or Hell.
“Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father, except through Me.”
(John 14:6)
“If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
(Romans 10:9)
Broken & Dependent,
Dan
Men:
God’s justice is unfortunately not discussed much, yet it is one very important attribute of God. The following is just one sentence that Jonathan Edwards said about God’s justice in sending people to hell:
“It is a world prepared on purpose for the expressions of God’s wrath. God has made hell for this. He has no other use for it, but there to satisfy his hatred of sin and sinners…”
To read Jonathan Edwards excerpt on this, click here
Who Defines Justice? – Red Book Day 63
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”
¹ 2 Samuel 21:1 ² Verse 6
MIM CONFERENCES
Please pray for the Lost Velley Men’s Conference that begins this evening.
Lost Valley Ranch
March 3-5
Pray for the speakers and the men attending….. thanks
Question: Where do you stand in your fervor and boldness to share Christ?
Now is a good time to review what Atheist, Penn Jillette said after receiving a Bible.
We have shared this before, but if you haven’t heard what Penn Jillette said after receiving the Bible, it worth watching! Please share it with your Christian friends……. (5 minute YouTube at bottom)
I love one of the comments: “Mr Jillette you probably don’t realize this, but that was the best 5-minute sermon most of us have ever heard”
Atheist Penn Jillette is one half of Penn and Teller, a duo that has been headlining Vegas shows for years with comedy and the art of illusion. Penn has never been shy about his disbelief in God, often writing about his conviction in articles and best-selling books. Yet in an on-line video blog that can be found on YouTube, Penn shares a story about the time a gracious Christian businessman gave him a Bible as a gift. Penn goes on to use the story as an opportunity to point out that Christians who don’t evangelize must really hate people. Here’s the direct quote from his video blog:
“……..I’ve always said, you know, that I don’t respect people who do not proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that, uh, well, it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think that people shouldn’t proselytize, [saying] “Just leave me alone and keep your religion to yourself”—uh, how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize them? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believed beyond the shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming to hit you, and you didn’t believe it, and that truck was bearing down on you, there’s a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that……..”
Here is Penn Jillette’s actual blog and a portion of the main narrative below:
A Gift Of A Bible (YouTube 5-min)
Quote from: “The Discipline of Delusion” – How secular ideas became the new idolatry
“The cost of following Christ has always been high. We in the modern West have paid little to follow Him, and as a result have lost the ability to see the plain truth of the Bible. The world is opposing Christ and His followers with increasing ferocity, and that cost to follow Him is about to go up for us. War is being waged against the truth of Christ, yet the modern church does not know how to biblically wage war. She has forgotten the truth.” (Page 182)
[Kindle version available on Amazon]
Men:
This is a great article. We have wonderful resources available to us, so be praying that God gives you a measure of boldness
THE LOST ART OF HANDING OUT GOSPEL TRACTS
Quote from article:
“……. so often I am aware of my inadequacy, and so often I stumble over words. This is where tracts are so beneficial. How do we even begin to share the gospel with a stranger? We’ll probably always need more time. Yet as we place a tiny seed of gospel hope in their hand, we come alongside our Lord in this glorious gospel work.”
VOM
A sobering reminder of what some Christian’s are going through for the cause of Christ:
Is This YOUR Desire?
